Home Affairs sends warning to people with Green ID books in South Africa

The Department of Home Affairs aims to stop producing green ID books before the end of 2026 and invalidate the document within the next two years.

That is according to Tulani Mavuso, the deputy director-general for operations at the Department of Home Affairs, who told Newzroom Afrika that 34.7 million smart ID cards had already been issued.

Government launched the smart ID card 13 years ago to phase out South Africa’s antiquated green ID book, which had become vulnerable to identity theft and fraud.

The first version of the green barcoded ID book was introduced in 1980 as an alternative to South Africa’s original blue “Book of Life” ID.

The development and general availability of modern printing and labelling products have contributed to rampant fraud and forgery involving the green ID book in the last 20 years.

Smile ID’s 2025 Digital Identity Fraud in Africa report found that fraud rates for South Africa’s green ID book were 500% higher than for smart IDs.

In response to the green ID book’s problems, Home Affairs launched the smart ID card in 2013. In addition to being far more difficult to alter physically, it boasts several digital security features.

Unfortunately, the card’s rollout was slow due to Home Affairs’ sluggish expansion of live-capture equipment at its own branches, which was needed to obtain people’s biometric data.

In 2016, it launched a pilot programme with several banks, enabling the department to deploy its staff and equipment in select branches to expand smart ID services.

While the service was popular, it only ever reached 32 branches, as there was little incentive and high risk for the banks to expand it.

Home Affairs and the Banking Association of South Africa have since developed and recently established a new digital partnership with the banking sector.

Under the new programme, banks can use their own staff and systems to offer Home Affairs services through an application programming interface (API) provided by the department.

The new initiative has been extremely successful, with more than 450 participating bank branches now providing access to smart ID services.

Home Affairs has already started the process to phase out Green ID books

Mavuso said that while home affairs minister Leon Schreiber would announce the final timelines when appropriate, the process to invalidate the green ID book had already started.

“The first thing the minister will do: he will announce the date that we stop production and take away the machine,” he said.

“The second part will be the date when the date of invalidity will be announced, so you can no longer use it as legal identification.”

He warned that carrying the green ID book after it had been phased out would not serve any purpose and that it was better to replace it with a smart ID now.

“It is more secure, and you can then carry on with your life without worrying about it,” said Mavuso.

“It will be difficult to do it when a green ID book is no longer regarded as a legal document that can be submitted for identity verification.”

While Home Affairs is on a drive to ensure as many citizens as possible have smart IDs for the November 2026 elections, Mavuso said that obtaining the document was critical for more than that.

It could prevent people from entering into business agreements or registering with support agencies such as the Unemployment Insurance Fund and the SA Social Security Agency.

Moreover, identity documents are required to access financial services, education, healthcare, and to buy or rent a home. They are also required when applying for a driving licence or a job.